THA's Rhodes steps down; Bonds takes varsity reins

Wednesday

Jul 25, 2012 at 10:15 AM

Philip Rhodes loves coaching basketball. He's coached Thomas Heyward's boys and girls varsity teams since 1989 and has won 274 games. But Rhodes also loves teaching. He teaches two science classes and a psychology class and combined with his duties as athletics director and assistant football coach, Rhodes realized his time has been stretched thin.This summer he decided he needed to give up one of his passions. A few weeks ago he stepped down as boys basketball coach."It was a very, very hard decision," Rhodes said last week. "It's been a way of life for me for a long time."Rhodes, 62, will be succeeded by longtime junior varsity coach and varsity assistant Buzz Bonds, who began coaching with Rhodes 23 years ago.Roy Prior will be the JV coach. Rhodes coached the boys from the 1989-90 to 1994-95 seasons, the girls in the 95-96 and 96-97 seasons and coached the boys and girls in the 97-98 and 98-99 seasons. Since the 1999-2000 season he only coached the boys. The team was 7-16 last season.He was named athletics director in 2006 and said it became too much to tend to those responsibilities as well as coach and be a quality teacher."I really truly love teaching," said Rhodes, who said he won 253 games coaching the boys and has an overall record of 274-174.Rhodes had spoken with Thomas Heyward headmaster John Rogers the last two years about the possibility of relinquishing one of his duties."Philip's a very good teacher and he's one of the few ADs that have that kind of work load," said Rogers, who coached Rhodes at Ridgeland High School. Rhodes will continue as teacher, athletic director, football assistant and will provide counseling for student-athletes.Bonds said he and Rhodes worked well from the start. Rhodes broke down the intricacies of the game and they always talked about strategies."We discussed any and everything that went on," Bonds said. "The communication between each other went so well."Rhodes, with Bonds as assistant, led an undersized 1994 team - its tallest players were 6-foot-1 - to the SCISA Class AAA state semifinals. Thomas Heyward began 0-4 in the region, but qualified for the state playoffs by winning the region tournament and used its quick amoeba zone defense to make a surprise run. The Rebels trailed by 20 points in the second half to Roy Hudgens Academy, but rallied to within six points with three minutes remaining before losing 64-52. That team, led by Cory Malphrus, Jim Carroll, John Rhodes, Earl Pope, J. Taylor and Mark Bonds, is Rhodes' coaching highlight."That will be at the top," he said. Rhodes will have time to better prepare for classes in his office, which is adorned with many framed autographed photographs of professional athletes, Thomas Heyward team photos and plaques and a ball from the 1994 team. He's preparing to be a spectator. "I'll be in the stands instead of the sidelines and it's going to be tough, I can tell already," Rhodes said.The 56-year-old Bonds is a 1974 Thomas Heyward graduate. He's coached each year since 1989 except for the 1996-97 and 2003-04 seasons. Bonds said "it's an honor" to coach the varsity and treasures Rhodes' tutelage."Philip is very knowledgeable about basketball," Bonds said. "He's a great X's and O's basketball coach. That's what he taught me."Bonds look forward to coaching this season's team, led by seniors JD Tuten and Ryan Day. Two years ago the JV team went 12-5 and last year, after about half the team moved to the varsity, the team went 14-1. Bonds is excited about seeing those players work together on the varsity. "What excites me is I believe we have a group that knows how to win," Bonds said. "The chemistry on the team, two years ago on the JV, was smooth."Rogers likes Bonds' basketball expertise."Buzz brings a lot to the table, he's a knowledgeable basketball coach and relates well to kids," Rogers said. Bonds and Rhodes spoke during the last few seasons about the future of the program and he thinks he's ready to take charge. "The timing is perfect," Bonds said. "I'm ready to make that step and I'm really excited about it."

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